Google's swipe into the physical world

Google is attempting to enter the physical world with its new Wallet card. It isn't a credit card, it's a prepaid debit card that can be used to spend money already in a person's Wallet balance.

Not everyone thinks it's Google's greatest idea.

Jennifer Jolly, host of USA Today's "Tech Now" said, "Google's time, energy and money would be better spent fixing the issues that have made Google Wallet—and [near-field communication] in general—so slow to set the mobile world on fire."

Jolly said Google could have focused on many other fixes to the current system, which include security, timing and education.

Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The Google Mobile Wallet application for cardless payments is displayed on a smartphone screen at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 29, 2012.

On the other hand, Google's Wallet card found a fan in Dana Wollman, managing editor of Engadget.

Wollman said the Wallet card solves two problems. "It gets people into the Google Wallet payment system who otherwise would have been turned off by the idea of using your phone as a payment method, " she said.

"If someone already was a Google Wallet early adopter, the card is a nice backup option, as it means you can spend the money in your account instantly instead of having to wait a few days for it to transfer to your real bank account," said Wollman.